Have a Little Faith

As a loosely-affiliated Catholic, I’ve never had much belief to speak of. When I asked my parents why they forced their daughters go to mass on Sundays, my Dad tersely replied, “Catholic guilt.” Despite my atheistic past, I’m starting to believe there is something else out there, and I’d like to inch closer to whatever that is.

Accordingly, the theme for my happiness project for the months of March and April will be spirituality. Well, strike that, two themes: health and spirituality. Bathing suit season is coming up, after all.

Glad I finally caught a glimpse of these infamous goats

In coherence with this idea, I read somewhere recently that said: writers should write something that they’d like to stumble upon themselves. For me, if I could read anything, I’d have in my hands a love-child of the spiritual text greats. An amalgamation of the best of the Bible, my meditation books, koans, and the relatives of those books, combined. Natalie’s Bible, if you will, would hold my favorite tenets of the various religious teachings in one place. It would contain only the things and stories that speak to me, and it would remind me to have faith. To see God in the every day.

Why would I want to read this book in particular? Because its what I need. Right now.

Hard work, patience, and persistence can only take you so far with your dreams. Those traits, those endeavors, the blood, sweat and tears, have to be complemented by belief. This is only something I’m starting to realize now.

Truth be told, belief has never been my forte in the past. Not belief in myself, not belief in something greater… Just generally, I’m a C- Belief student. But I’m young. And anything can be learned. And lately, I have more belief than I’ve ever had in my life. Belief in possibilities, belief in my abilities. Belief that the universe is friendly, and acting on my behalf.

Having ridden on both the belief and non-belief trains, I’d prefer to get a ticket for the former.

For the months of March and April, I’ll read religious texts and write about my favorite parts. And just a sidenote, I have several trials going on at work right now, and I’ve had less free (blog) time. If posts seem a bit more sporadic, that’s why. Its not a permanent state of being for me (thank god), but I just wanted to make you guys aware.

Frank Lloyd Wright said, “The thing always happens that you really believe in and the belief in a thing makes it happen.” The start to a better world or a better life begins with the belief that it is possible. Today, I urge you (and myself) to put faith in your pocket and carry it around. Surrender. You can only do so much, and dreams take time. Maybe you have the worst day ever today. Maybe your car breaks down. Maybe you get an awful, unexpected text, or your co-workers act like assholes. I’m in the middle of my first trial at work right now. I’ve had more than a few worst days ever since the start of February. But I’m working my ass off, and today, when I go into work, I’ll keep what E.E. Cummings said in my heart: “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody but yourself – means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight – and never stop fighting.”